


Ir Asha'bellanar

by AnonymousInquisitor



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eventual Smut, F/M, Inquisitor as Companion, Minor Violence, Series Spoilers, Sexual Content, Slow Burn, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-18
Updated: 2015-10-18
Packaged: 2018-04-26 23:03:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5024011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnonymousInquisitor/pseuds/AnonymousInquisitor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ellana Lavellan’s clan traded her for a favor from Asha’belannar, leaving her to follow the direction of the fabled Witch of the Wilds. She is sent to the conclave at Flemeth's urging, but does not emerge as Inquisitor. Instead, Lily Trevelyan rises as the "Herald of Andraste" and Ellana must remain as a part of the Inquisition's forces for reasons unknown to herself. She becomes a part of the Herald's inner circle -- to what extend, however?</p><p>Based upon a prompt: “an AU where Flemeth ‘steals’ a young Lavellan mage to possess in some foresight that she will not find Morrigan after the events with HoF? Or an alternative where she doesn’t want Solas to kill her and takes a welled Inquisitor Lavellan’s body?”  Only Lavellan is not the Inquisitor in this scenario.</p><p>Eventual Solavellan as things progress.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> First off, I wanted to once again, thank foxmastercho on tumblr for the prompt. My mind ran with the idea after pondering it. I hope to write this a little differently than Sulena in order to explore different writing styles but something that's still comfortable to me.
> 
> I don't have any sort of set updating schedule for this, either.
> 
> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy! <3

 

It started with a prayer.

 

A request. 

 

Ellana remembered when Asha’bellanar came to their camp, remembered the hushed whispers that spread across the camp. She was the First, but she knew nothing of why the woman had come. They asked, but could give no answers. 

 

She remembered waiting, anxious, for them to emerge again. She remembered the look upon Keeper Deshanna’s face: trepidation, worry, and resignation in the end when the woman had left. She remembered the look both had turned upon her, the smile upon the witch’s face before she left the camp.

 

She was told to remember this day and never let the thought leave her mind.

 

\---

 

Many years later, Asha’bellanar came again. She landed at the outskirts of their camp as a dragon, and stood again as a woman. Keeper Deshanna welcomed her warmly, her smile wide as she bid her welcome and offered their camp to her.

 

Ellana was called to her side and she greeted her with a low bow. She was told to rise again as the witch declined their invitation. 

 

She remembered the look the witch had given her and her Keeper’s hand warm upon her shoulder. 

 

“You will be leaving with her.”

 

She remembered the heat of her breath upon her ear, the way her hand had tightened and dug into her shoulder. 

 

“You will always be my First, da’len. You will have a place here.”

 

She promised. 

 

Ellana remembered how she bit the inside of her cheek, the taste of the blood in her mouth. She remembered the nerves that pulled at her stomach, they way it twisted, sickly inside her. But she forced a smile and hugged Deshanna.

 

She packed nothing and entered the Wilds to learn the ways of the Witch.

 

\--- 

 

She returned, changed. 

 

The feel of the camp had been different, because she was different. They kept their distance, spoke no ill towards her. But they did not see her like them any longer. She was different. She advised the Keeper, now, rather than falling into the role of simply First. 

 

She had ventured to ask, once, why she had been sent away.

 

“We owed her a favor, da’len. And now you have returned to us.”

 

Ellana could only smile, but it was forced, vainly upon her lips with an emotion she could not bring herself to feel. 

 

“Of course,” she had responded and both knew that her words did not ring true.

 

\--- 

 

Words of the human conclave became a frequent report from the hunters and Ellana dreaded each one. Especially when confirmation of a time and place became known. She approached Deshanna but the Keeper spoke before she could.

 

“We should observe,” Deshanna’s voice held authority, a firmness that she could not deny. A smile touched upon Ellana’s lips and she could only nod in her agreement. Until she spoke of sending one of the hunters.

 

“I will go.” 

 

She saw the protests rising, the words upon the tip of her tongue before she cut them off and relented with a nod. She offered to send a hunter along with her, but she denied the necessity of it. 

 

She packed light and she could feel the air of relief within the camp, though none spoke the words they had longed to say. They gave simple farewells that kept her at an arm’s length from them. She did not mind.

 

\---

 

It was easy to slip in among the servants, do dawn the guise of one of their elves. The vallaslin gave her away as someone who was not born among them, but it was not unheard of for a Dalish to leave their clans. 

 

She observed, as she had been bidden. But she saw nothing peculiar.

 

On the third day, she had been sent down to the place called Haven for an errand. She obliged.

 

An explosion shook the sky and ripped the world as she knew it. The Temple was gone, the Veil was torn and demons poured from the hole. More tears began to form and she gave a silent thanks that she had not been present at the Temple. 

 

_“You will know the moment change is upon us. And you will remember what you must du.”_

 

Asha’bellanar’s words reminded her of her purpose. And like many others, she clamored for information and understanding.

 

\---

 

They returned with news of the Divine’s death. A culprit who bore a mark of magic they claimed to have caused the breach. A woman, a noble woman who was not a mage. But no mage would have such power to tear the Veil as she had. And they brought her to the prison, though she was unconscious. 

 

An elven apostate was among those who saw to her.

 

Ellana slipped in as an attendant, watching him work until she was called away elsewhere. 

 

They said the woman would never wake.

 

They focused on finding a solution. 

 

She held her tongue and lowered her head, waiting, watching, to see what would come. To see what the elven man would do, because he claimed to want to help, and offered possible solutions. 

 

\---

 

The Lady Trevelyan sealed the Breach, but it still hung in the sky. She wondered, then, what she was to do. She observed but had found nothing. Change had certainly happened, and would continue but she was at a loss. She wondered, briefly, if she should flee but suspicion may fall upon the elven mage that suddenly vanished.

 

Ellana did, however, venture from Haven one night. Away from prying eyes to tug the amulet she wore from around her neck. A simple, worn thing, that would draw no attention. 

 

“What am I supposed to do?”

 

“Wait. You are to wait, child. Find your place with the one that bears the mark. Offer your skills as a mage, offer the skills I had taught you. Just enough to prove your worth, your knowledge. Nothing more.” The amulet answered, simply and she bit her cheek as she had many times when she wanted to ask more.

 

She slipped it back around her neck and all signs of life faded from it again. 

 

She changed back into her Dalish attire the next day. She offered her assistance, offering to be an ambassador to the Dalish -- they would need help to seal the Breach entirely. They did not turn her away. 

 

 


	2. Chapter One

It was days before Lily Trevelyan actually approached her, but she had observed the woman from a distance as she interacted with those around Haven. Namely, how she approached Varric and Solas but never her, never seeking the Dalish mage out.

 

“Come with us to the Hinterlands,” she spoke plainly, words abrupt, almost awkward. There was no introduction nor did her words leave room for protest. It was not an invitation.

 

Ellana lifted a brow but allowed a smile, “Certainly.”

 

She gave the woman no human titles, nor did she call her ‘Herald’. She saw the twitch of annoyance at the corner of her lips but she forced a smile.

 

“We are seeking a horse master for the Inquisition,” Lily explained through the smile, “the roads leading to his lands are overrun with bandits. If you can’t handle it, let me know now.”

 

“I will manage.” 

 

Again, the woman’s lips twitched but she nodded her approval. She said nothing more before she departed, leaving her to prepare for travel.

 

“I don’t think the Herald is fond of you, Fern.” Varric’s voice drifted in from behind her, the dwarf surprisingly quiet. Though, her interaction with the Children of Stone had been quite limited before.

 

“Fern?” 

 

She knew the Herald had no care for her, an elf who showed no deference towards her -- She had treated Solas much the same.

 

“It fits: you’ve shown a care to nature since your arrival,” he had been watching her tend to the  herbs, “and you refuse to share your reason for wanting to work with the Herald other than saying you’re an ‘ambassador’ to the Dalish. Ferns symbolize secrecy in some varieties.” 

 

She laughed easily at his words as she began to lace on her armor, “You are not wrong that I have secrets, but my intentions are for the Dalish. This Breach is not the problem of one race alone.”

 

“If you say so,” he did not buy her words so easily, she saw the skepticism in his gaze and felt his eyes linger as she wandered away to fetch supplies.

 

\---

 

Ellana wondered what sort of woman Trevelyan would be away from Haven, away from those she may have sought to impress. She watched her with a curiosity as she interacted with those in the Crossroads. She denied being Herald, but still seemed to glow under their attention, and spoke with a high regard for herself.

 

She was, after all, a shemlen noble. It was in her nature.

 

Solas was another curiosity. He claimed that he was no Dalish -- he wore no vallaslin -- nor did he claim to be an elf from the cities. He spoke of the Fade in detail, of the spirits. She would drift away once their conversations finished.

 

There was no reason for her to approach him.

 

“What interest do the Dalish hold in a human organization?” Solas asked as they waited for the so called Herald. 

 

He pulled her gaze from the woman and looked to the man. She took in the look of him, now that he was closer. He was different from the men in her clan, taller, certainly. His blue eyes held knowledge that made her cautious and he was as wary of her as she was he. 

 

“I think the world potentially ending serves enough of a purpose for the Dalish to be interested, at least for one clan.”

 

He did not seem satisfied with this answer and she saw Varric look in their direction, listening as he always did. 

 

“I would have expected that they would have left the humans to deal with their own problems.”

 

“You are quick to draw conclusions on those you know so little about.” She returned. Had she not been watching, the irritation in his gaze would not have been obvious.

 

She saw a hint of a smile upon Varric’s lips, but he said nothing of their dialogue.

 

“I know enough to where I can draw such conclusions.” 

 

Lily returned before she could retort further. “We’re leaving. Master Dennet’s farm is not that far from here.”

 

Ellana held her tongue yet again, her head dipped in acknowledgement for their course of action. She was not so stiff when she spoke to other shemlen, the words flowing more freely. 

 

And yet, she did not have a single shemlen in her current company.

 

It made little sense to have another warrior with her, as far as strategy went.

 

Ellana fell into place behind the Herald in an instant and Varric trailed after her. Solas lingered towards the back of their party. His eyes burned holes into her back, she felt them fixated upon her for the entirety of their excursion.

 

And somehow, she could not pull her gaze from him. 

 

He continued to grow as a curiosity.

 

\---

 

“Thank you,” Lily spoke, suddenly, upon their return to Haven when both Varric and Solas had left them.

 

“For what?” 

 

Her jaw worked, as if the words were tough to chew. Lips pressed together into a thin line, and then slowly relaxed as she found the words. “I heard you helped in my recovery. You didn’t need to stay, either.”

 

“Think nothing of it, Trevelyan.”

 

Lily’s shoulders relaxed and tension slowly faded. Caution remained, lingering but slowly dissipating.

 

“You also saved me during one fight today. I appreciate it.” The smile upon her lips was a touch more genuine, one that she acknowledged with a slight nod of her head. “I should go.”

 

Ellana watched as she approached the requisition master before she made her way towards the apothecary’s hut. Solas lingered outside of the hut that he was given, his eyes followed her as she approached.

 

“What have the Dalish done to earn such disfavor from you, Solas?” 

 

“And, why should I answer?” He wondered back, his smile almost taunting. 

 

“Because, at least for now, we are working together.” Her lips curled into a smile to mimic his, her hands folded behind her back as she had watched him do countless times. “Enlighten me, hahren. Perhaps I can right what disservice that was done to you.”

 

He looked startled by her words, genuine confusion pulled at his brow until it was drawn into a frown. Words seemed lost on him for a moment before his gaze was pulled elsewhere, past her, to the hut of the apothecary.

 

“Perhaps another time. It looks like your attention is requested.”

 

“Another time, then.” 

 

It was a promise. She would not forget to ask.


End file.
